Overview

• The Chinese State Council Information Office released a white paper asserting that COVID-19 may have originated in the United States, citing 'substantial evidence.'
• The report highlights a U.S. CDC study showing SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in samples collected in late 2019, suggesting the virus was present in the U.S. before the outbreak in China.
• Chinese officials criticized the U.S. for politicizing the virus's origins and called for a global investigation focusing on the United States.
• The white paper challenges the Wuhan lab-leak theory, which has been promoted by the Trump administration's revamped COVID website since mid-April.
• The CIA maintains a 'low confidence' assessment that a lab origin in Wuhan is more likely than natural emergence, reflecting ongoing divisions in the intelligence community.